Caffeine And The Psychotic Woman

Many women are trapped in the same scenario day after day like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day. Women wake up tired. Most woman start their day by getting themselves and/or their families ready for the day. Breakfast is usually prepared for others and not themselves because earlier they opted for a few more minutes of sleep. They head out to Starbucks to satisfy a craving for the chocolate caffeine filled pick me up that will get them through the next few hours.

At work or at home their days are filled with catering to the needs of others. The energy zapping needs of infants and preschoolers and the endless household chores can rival any executive position in a Fortune 500 company. Deadlines, guidelines and timelines inflicted by an employer can drain the mental and physical energy of the most enthusiastic career woman.

Now comes the crash, a total loss of both energy and mental alertness. Maybe a muffin for breakfast, 2 cups of coffee before noon and skipping lunch does not fulfill the recommended daily allowance of vitamins and proteins necessary to carry a woman through her day. For most women the response is to eat something fast that will produce a quick energy boost such as a Coke or Pepsi (more caffeine) with a Snickers (caffeine and sugar) and the promise to grab something from the drive through on the way home.

Many women leave work late rushing home to cook dinner, drive someone to a sport, music, and dance or art practice and prepare for the next day. Falling into bed exhausted but not relaxed to enter a fitful sleep full of thoughts of the busy day to come. The alarm rings and it starts all over again and the need for caffeine increases. This is a pattern of stress.

Without question stress is a major component of the lives of women. Stress is fueled by guilt over not being able to give their best to any one component of their overfilled lives. Stress, guilt, sleep deprivation, and caffeine create a noxious mix within the body of a woman to which nature has added hormones. Hormones are a major factor in the health and psychological well being of woman. But for many women hormones are the invaders that for 1-2 weeks a month controls their moods, bodies, and minds. Hormonal surges and ebbs can make a woman feel like she's losing her mind.

So here's the cycle a woman is stress and tired when she wakes up, so she uses caffeine to give her energy, caffeine builds up in her body so each day she needs more and more of it to get her moving, she has so much caffeine in her body and with the added stress of her life she does not sleep well at night which causes her to wake up stressed and exhausted. Once a month she becomes an emotional powder keg, where anger, sadness, and frustration pour out of her, often at the same time. She goes to her doctor and says "I can't sleep, I feel depressed, I don't have any energy" her doctor prescribes a anti-depressant referencing signs of clinical depression in her medical records.